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Anson, for­merly known as Plan­ta­tion Num­ber One in Som­er­set County, was incor­po­rated on March 1, 1798. Set­tled in 1772, it was named for British Lord George Anson. Dur­ing the 19th cen­tury it ceded land to Indus­try (1823) and New Port­land (1830), and annexed land from Emb­den (1828) and New Vine­yard (1840).

It has been known as Brook­field, Seven Mile Brook Plan­ta­tion, and Tit­comb Town. North Anson, now a vil­lage in the town, was briefly a sep­a­rate town by that name between 1845 and 1855. The rocky Carrabas­sett River flows through North Anson to the Ken­nebec River in Madison.

Dur­ing the mid-​twentieth cen­tury many res­i­dents in Anson vil­lage (in the south), espe­cially those near the Ken­nebec River, worked in the Madi­son paper mills. The twelve o’clock whis­tle not only sig­naled lunch time for the work­ers, but was a marker for life in town, includ­ing moth­ers admon­ish­ing chil­dren to be home when the whis­tle blows.

The town office lies near the bridge to Madi­son in Anson vil­lage. The upper floors were once used for min­strel shows, com­mu­nity events, and town meet­ings. It was also the bas­ket ball court for the ele­men­tary school in the 1950’s.

Bene­dict Arnold’s trail to Que­bec cuts through the town in Anson vil­lage along the Kennebec.